Chapter 221 Brothers
The two young men happily arrived at the Guanjun Marquis's mansion. They were Zhao Anting and Zhao Anmin, the second sons of Zhao Po Nu. There was no politeness at all, and the two men entered the mansion directly.

Seeing Chen Ju in front of the hall, the two young men hurriedly bowed and said, "Zhao Anting (Zhao Anmin) greets Uncle Chen. I hope Uncle Chen is well."

Chen Jule said with a smile, "Have you made it clear with your family? You two are not here to be guests but to help out."

Zhao Anting said quickly, "Mother has told us to be more diligent. Uncle Chen, we will work hard for you, so we will do our best!"

Chen Ju smiled and nodded, "That's true. If they really want to hire someone, they won't need you two. It's because the Lord is close to your family that he brought you two little ones to such an occasion!"

Zhao Anting and Zhao Anmin were smiling happily. One of them was seventeen and the other fifteen, which was not particularly old, but not young either.

Although Zhao Po Nu was reinstated and Zhao Anguo was conferred a title, the Zhao family became prominent again. However, the people of the Zhao family knew very well that there was still a huge difference between them and the Marquis of Guanjun, and they were even of the same blood.

Chen Sanlang ran out and said, "An Ting, An Min, go to other marquisates to deliver invitations later."

His status was suitable, after all, he was the son of a marquis, and he was also a member of the Zhao family. Everyone knew that he was the confidant of the Marquis of Champion. Especially the old members of the Marquis of Champion, they had more say and appeal.

Zhao Anmin said quickly, "Of course we should send you an invitation, but we haven't met you yet. You should greet him no matter what, otherwise it would be too rude."

"Your Excellency, can you get up at this hour?" Chen Ju said with a smile, "Go do something first. Are you afraid that Your Excellency won't know after you've done it?"

The Zhao brothers scratched their heads in embarrassment. They didn't really want to show their faces in front of Huo Xian before doing anything, but out of courtesy they had to greet him and chat with him. This was the normal procedure.

However, they overestimated Huo Xian's emphasis on certain etiquette, and also underestimated the status of the Zhao family in the Guanjun Marquis's Mansion. They really did not treat them as outsiders at all and completely regarded them as juniors (younger brothers).

There is no such thing as politeness. Sometimes being polite means being too polite. Huo Xian was never polite when he went to the General's Mansion, and he was never polite to people he approved of.

Huo Xian woke up naturally, stretched, washed up, and walked out of the bedroom in a daze.

Liu Mo immediately said, "Lord, Lord Zhongli and Lord Zhuang are here."

Huo Xian was stunned for a moment and asked, "When did you come? You guys are so stupid. The guests are here, but you didn't even wake me up."

Liu Mo said unhappily, "Since the Lord hasn't gotten up, he must be sleepy. Besides, I wanted to wake him up, but they wouldn't let me. It's only half an hour, so it's okay to wait a little longer."

Huo Xian was speechless for a moment. Lei Dian and Yi were naturally being polite and trying to please him. But Liu Mo and his people just let it go. They always thought that their own princes were the most important.

Huo Xian smiled and walked towards the hall, "When the thunder and lightning came, why didn't you let someone call me!"

Lei Dian and Yi immediately stood up, bowed with a smile, and said, "Greetings, my Lord."

Huo Xian casually returned the greeting and said, "Alright, we are all brothers, there are no outsiders here."

Everyone knew some of Huo Xian's ways of doing things. The more polite he was, the more he didn't consider him one of their own. If he really considered him one of their own, he would be very casual in his conversations and greetings.

Some things are just so strange. Some people will feel that they have been neglected or looked down upon due to lack of courtesy, and this grudge will naturally be recorded.

But sometimes, some seemingly casual behaviors can make people feel close to them and not treated as outsiders, which makes them feel happy. This is the treatment they hope for.

Chen Ju said, "I originally wanted to ask them to help, but now that I have inherited the title, I have asked An Ting and An Min to run errands. Now they are sending invitations everywhere."

Yi immediately said, "Uncle Chen, if An Ting and An Min can do these things, why can't we do them?"

"That's different. You have titles." Huo Xian said with a smile, "You can help me entertain the guests. I haven't been around Chang'an much in recent years, so I'm not familiar with some people."

Yi and Lei Dian naturally took note of it immediately. If they were really asked to deliver the invitations, that would be no problem. After all, he was the Marquis of Champion, so they could only follow the arrangements.

However, helping to entertain guests is obviously more in line with their status. After all, they are marquises. Unlike Zhao Anting and others who have no title and can be ordered around, they can run around.

When you are out in public, your identity is not just given by yourself. The most important thing is that it is also seen by other people. Even if you are a little casual, you can't go too far. The most basic respect is still required.

Huo Xian looked at Lei Dian and asked, "I remember seeing you riding a horse before. Your archery skills were average, but your riding skills were quite good."

"Your Excellency has a good memory!" Lei Dian said quickly, "You have wasted these years. When I was young, I could still ride a horse, but these years I have only been eating, drinking and having fun, and my ability is low."

Huo Xian also understood this. It was not just Lei Dian who was like this. Many of those who surrendered from the Xiongnu were similar. After becoming the dignitaries of the Han Dynasty, they lived a life of drunkenness and debauchery, enjoying a luxurious life without restraint.

Although Lei Dian was a nobleman in the Xiongnu and his life was not hard, the basic living conditions and supplies there were not as rich as those in the Han Dynasty.

It was not just Lei Dian and Yi Dianshi who surrendered from the Xiongnu, but also some of the original Han people. After being granted titles and appointed as generals, they were bound to enjoy wealth and glory.

After fighting for most of your life, it is natural to enjoy yourself a little, and there seems to be nothing wrong with it.

What's more, the current Han Dynasty's customs, especially among the powerful, are also somewhat extravagant. All of this is naturally led by the emperor, and everyone's pursuit of pleasure is only getting higher and higher.

Huo Xian looked at Lei Dian and Yi Dangshi with a smile, and said, "I know that some people have complained about me in recent years, saying that I only took An Guo with me when I went out to fight, and didn't think about you at all."

Although they complained in their hearts, Lei Dian and Yi said in unison, "Sir, we dare not. We are of low ability and are far inferior to Cong Piaohou."

Of course, they were jealous of Zhao Anguo, Lei Dian and others. They just inherited their fathers' titles, but Zhao Anguo had fought for his title with Huo Xian on the battlefield.

There are still some differences here. There must be some differences between what my father did and what I fought for. Huo Xian continued, "I have been in the palace for many years. I have only been to war three times. It is embarrassing to say that I have only fought against the Xiongnu once, and that was with the general."

This is also true. Huo Xian's military achievements are certainly of great value. He almost destroyed Dayuan and took back the emperor's coveted Ferghana horses. This was a great achievement.

Another thing is that he almost pacified the Western Regions, which means he destroyed Luntai on the way to attack Dayuan. In fact, he destroyed the four countries in the Western Regions and almost incorporated the Western Regions into the territory of the Han Dynasty. This is naturally a great achievement.

But when it comes to fighting the Huns, Huo Shan fought a battle with General Wei Qing. The reason why he seemed to come out of nowhere was because he captured Zuo Xian King. This achievement made people dare not talk about his military achievements anymore.

As for this time when they attacked the Western Regions, they blocked the Huns' surprise attack and fought with the Right Wise King of the Huns. Although they had some gains, they were not that great.

In the eyes of others it must be a great achievement, but compared with Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, Huo Shan's record in fighting the Huns was actually average, and the number of people killed was far less.

Lei Dian and Yi naturally praised Huo Shan at that time. They also felt from the bottom of their hearts that Huo Shan's military achievements were brilliant enough. Among all the generals of the Han Dynasty, Huo Shan had killed the most enemies and the most Huns.

Huo Xian smiled, not being modest, "Among all the generals in the court, besides the general, I am the only one who can be ranked higher. I think that even if your martial arts skills are not good enough, you can still go to war with me, so leading the troops should not be a problem."

Lei Dian immediately stepped forward and said passionately, "Please rest assured, my lord. Although I have little ability, I can still go with you to fight. I will be satisfied to be a general under your command!"

Yi also quickly expressed his attitude at that time, "My Lord, I am not talented enough, but as long as you give the order, I can complete it even if I die!"

Fighting a war is naturally risky, especially fighting the Xiongnu. Even though the Xiongnu now seems no longer as strong as before, they can still be defeated if they are not careful, and this is not the case with Dayuan and Cheshi.

However, as a marquis, even if he enjoys wealth and glory, he still needs to take responsibility sometimes. When it is time to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, he naturally needs to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. This is something that cannot be avoided.

Be it Lei Dian or Yi Dianshi, they knew that their abilities were average. It would not work if they were asked to lead an army alone. That would definitely result in casualties. Even if they did not die in battle, they would be punished by the court.

However, if he follows Huo Xian to fight now, the possibility of success will be greater, and the opportunity to achieve great things will come. He will feel at ease following such a reliable general.

This was definitely not just the thought of Lei Dian and Yi at the time. Most of the other marquises and officers probably thought so too.

If I followed Wei Qing and Huo Xian to fight, I would have a higher chance of making achievements. If I followed Li Guangli and others to fight, although I believed that the Han army was strong, I would still have some doubts in my heart.

To be honest, in all these years, Li Guangli was the only one who fought a battle where he didn't know whether he won or lost. The expedition to Dayuan failed and the troops retreated, and it was only with the help of Huo Xian that Dayuan was conquered.

The Han army is now full of confidence and has basically never lost a foreign war. The Xiongnu seemed to have just recovered a little, but were defeated again and again by this champion marquis.

Fighting with General Baisheng can boost morale a lot.

Huo Xian is ready to "promote" some people, no matter they are newcomers or some old colleagues, etc. Those who should be promoted should be promoted, and he also needs these people to contribute.

This was also the reason why Lu Bode and others were sought out before. After all, if we wanted to have a decisive battle with the Huns, we had to have a group of reliable generals and officers on hand. Large-scale combat could not be accomplished by Huo Xian leading the troops alone.

Lei Dian and Yi finally realized that the Champion Marquis rarely entertained guests, and a big part of the reason might be to prepare for the "selection of generals".

Although such matters cannot be decided by just a banquet, which people to bring around as generals and which ones to assign important tasks all depend on the Marquis of Champion's thoughts.

It is obviously wishful thinking to expect Champion Hou to 'come to his senses' and start maintaining various relationships. It seems that he still doesn't care about those things at all.

Zhao Anting ran back happily, "Greetings to the Lord Jun, Lord Zhuang, and Lord Zhongli."

Lei Dian said jokingly with a smile, "An Ting is being too distant. Are you and I really so distant now?"

Zhao Anting was just laughing. He naturally knew Lei Dian and Yi Dangshi. They were indeed brothers in terms of seniority. But in the past, these two inherited marquises looked down on him.

Although I am still a little young and frivolous now, I still have some basic emotional intelligence and I know that there is no need to clarify some things at this time.

Huo Xian looked at Zhao An Ting and said jokingly, "You were assigned a task as soon as you came to my house. Where's An Min?"

Zhao Anting gloated, "I asked him to go find Marquis Yi Guan, he will definitely be scolded."

In front of Zhao Anguo, Zhao Anting is just a well-behaved younger brother. But in front of Zhao Anmin, he is the elder brother who has the final say. So it is normal for him to bully his younger brother sometimes.

Huo Xian said with some dissatisfaction, "Going to Uncle Gao, is it enough just to comfort the people? You guys will all go there in a while, why do you think that Uncle Gao has lost his title and dare to neglect him?"

Zhao Anting said quickly, "Sir, that's impossible! We often visit Uncle Gao, but Uncle Gao likes to preach over the years, so we youngsters don't dare to go."

Lei Dian and Yi who were standing nearby had even greater feelings at that time. They and Gao Buzhi were originally Huns, and were lectured even more.

As for Gao Bushi losing his title, the title remains the title and the official position remains the official position. Gao Bushi still has a military position, but the former Xiongnu king and Yi Guanhou are now just colonels.

Since Huo Xian has said so much, Zhao Anting and others naturally have no choice but to prepare to find Gao Buzhi and receive some ideological education.

Seeing these people look listless, Huo Xian couldn't help but gloat over their misfortune, because it could be said that there were indeed quite a few people who taught him a lesson, but not too many.

Even Huo Qubing's trusted generals like Zhao Po Nu and Gao Bu Shi would give Huo Shan enough face when facing him and would not preach to him casually.

Although he didn't have to experience these things, Huo Xian didn't mind other people receiving some education. If it had nothing to do with them, they could just watch the show from the sidelines, which would also be a very interesting thing!

This is not a bad taste, but maintaining the relationship. These are the basic base of Champion Hou!
(End of this chapter)

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